"Africa"
US 7-inch (180 mm) shaped picture disc edition
Single by Toto
from the album Toto IV
B-side
  • "Good for You"
  • "We Made It"
Released
  • June 25, 1982 (U.K.)[1]
  • October 1982 (U.S.)
RecordedJune 1981 (1981-06)
StudioSunset Sound (Hollywood)[2]
Genre
Length
  • 4:55 (album version)
  • 4:21 (radio and video edit)
LabelColumbia
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)David Paich
Producer(s)Toto
Toto singles chronology
"Make Believe"
(1982)		 "Africa"
(1982)		 "I Won't Hold You Back"
(1983)
Music video
"Africa" on YouTube
Audio sample
  • file
  • help

"Africa" is a song by American rock band Toto, appearing as the tenth and final track on their fourth studio album Toto IV (1982). It was released as a single in the US through Columbia Records in October 1982, the album's third single overall and second in Europe. The song was written by band members David Paich and Jeff Porcaro, produced by the band, and mixed by Grammy-winning engineer Elliot Scheiner.

Critics praised its composition and gentle production; the song continues to receive critical acclaim, and has been noted as one of the greatest songs of all time by Rolling Stone.[7]

The song was accompanied by a music video, which premiered in 1983, and was directed by Steve Barron, who collaborated previously with the group for "Rosanna". The video features Toto in a library, as they perform and showcase various aspects of African culture. While popular in the 1980s and 1990s, with the song being certified gold by the RIAA in 1991, "Africa" saw a resurgence in popularity via social media during the mid- to late 2010s, inspiring numerous Internet memes as well as a fan-requested cover by American rock band Weezer which peaked at number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100.[9][10][11][12][13] It has since been certified eight times platinum.[14]

Background

The initial idea and lyrics for the song came from David Paich. Paich was playing around with a new keyboard, the CS-80,[15] and found the brassy sound that became the opening riff. He completed the melody and lyrics for the chorus in about ten minutes, much to Paich's surprise. "I sang the chorus out as you hear it. It was like God channeling it. I thought, 'I'm talented, but I'm not that talented. Something just happened here!'"[16] Paich refined the lyrics for six months before showing the song to the rest of the band.[16]

In 2015, Paich explained that the song is about a man's love of a continent, Africa, rather than just a personal romance.[17] He based the lyrics on a late night documentary with depictions of African plight and suffering. The viewing experience made a lasting impact on Paich: "It both moved and appalled me, and the pictures just wouldn't leave my head. I tried to imagine how I'd feel about it if I was there and what I'd do."[18] Jeff Porcaro elaborates further, explaining: "A white boy is trying to write a song on Africa, but since he's never been there, he can only tell what he's seen on TV or remembers in the past."[19]

Some additional lyrics relate to a person flying in to meet a lonely missionary, as Paich described in 2018.[20] As a child, Paich attended a Catholic school; several of his teachers had done missionary work in Africa. Their missionary work became the inspiration behind the line: "I bless the rains down in Africa." Paich, who at the time had never set foot in Africa, based the song's landscape descriptions from an article in National Geographic.[20] At the time, Steve Lukather humorously remarked that he would run "naked down Hollywood Boulevard" if the song became a hit, due to his bemusement over the lyrics; Paich argued that it was a "fantasy song" in the vein of previous songs such as "Margaritaville".[21]

During an appearance on the radio station KROQ-FM, Steve Porcaro and Lukather described the song as "dumb" and "an experiment" and some of the lyrics as "goofy" that were just placeholders, particularly the line about the Serengeti.[22] Engineer Al Schmitt stated that "Africa" was the second song written for Toto IV and had been worked on extensively in the studio.[16] Eventually, the band grew tired of the song and considered cutting it from the album entirely.[22] David Paich considered saving "Africa" for a solo record but decided against it.[23]

The band did not expect "Africa" to be a hit, after the intended success of lead single "Rosanna" (which had peaked at number 2). However, after Sony found out that the song was gaining traction in New York dance clubs, they decided to release it as another single, further cementing the popularity of Toto IV in the process.[21]

Composition

Musically, the song took some time to assemble. Steve Porcaro, the band's synth player, introduced Paich to the Yamaha CS-80, a polyphonic analog synthesizer, and instructed him to write a song specifically with the keyboard in mind. Paich gravitated towards a brassy flute sound, which he found to be a unique alternative to the piano.[15] Porcaro programmed six tracks of a Yamaha GS 1 digital piano to emulate the sound of a kalimba.[15] Steve Porcaro's brother, Jeff, played his parts live without a click track.

"So when we were doing "Africa" I set up a bass drum, snare drum and a hi-hat, and Lenny Castro set up right in front of me with a conga. We looked at each other and just started playing the basic groove. [...] The backbeat is on 3, so it's a half-time feel, and it's 16th notes on the hi-hat. [...] We played for five minutes on tape, no click, no nothing. We just played. And I was singing the bass line for 'Africa' in my mind, so we had a relative tempo. Lenny and I went into the booth and listened back to the five minutes of that same boring pattern. We picked out the best two bars that we thought were grooving, and we marked those two bars on tape. [...] Maybe it would have taken two minutes to program that in the Linn, and it took about half an hour to do this. But a Linn machine doesn't feel like that!"

Jeff Porcaro also acknowledged that he was influenced by the sounds created by fellow Los Angeles session musicians Milt Holland and Emil Richards. He also described the significance of the African pavilion drummers at the 1964 New York World's Fair and a National Geographic Special. To recreate those sounds, he and his father Joe Porcaro made percussion loops on bottle caps and marimba respectively.[16][24]

I was about 11 when the New York World's Fair took place, and I went to the African pavilion with my family. I saw the real thing ... It was the first time I witnessed somebody playing one beat and not straying from it, like a religious experience, where it gets loud, and everyone goes into a trance.

Lyrically, the song concerns a man torn between staying in Africa, a continent he is enamored with, and travelling to stay with a girl he is seeing.[25] In the chorus, he "[blesses] the rains down in Africa"; several other references to other parts of the continent are made throughout, such as "wild dogs [crying] out in the night" and "Kilimanjaro [rising]... above the Serengeti" (which are, in reality, about an eight-hour drive apart).[26] Stereogum writer Tom Breihan interpreted the song's Africa as an "extended metaphor" – a "stand-in [for] a thing that you long for even before you’ve said goodbye to it", and therefore potentially a partial allusion to Paich's own "rock stardom... that kept him apart from anything resembling a normal life".[27] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone interpreted it differently as a song about "modern alienation", with the speaker "lost in time and space": he "doesn’t know a thing about Africa, except it has to be better than the nightmare where he’s trapped right now".[8]

Music video

The music video used the radio edit and was directed by Steve Barron.[28] It features Mike Porcaro on bass, replacing David Hungate, who had already left the band before the video was made. Lenny Castro is also featured in the video on percussion. As of late August 2023, the music video has 900 million views on YouTube.[29]

In the video, a researcher in a library (portrayed by band member David Paich) tries to match a scrap of a picture of a shield to the book from which it was torn out. As he continues his search, a female librarian (portrayed by Jenny Douglas-McRae) working at a nearby desk takes occasional notice of him, while an African man carrying a shield that matches the picture begins to close in on the library from the surrounding jungle. When the researcher finds a book titled Africa, the man throws a spear at a bookshelf, toppling stacks of books. Africa falls open to the page from which the scrap was torn, but a lantern lands on it and sets it on fire, after which the librarian's eyeglasses are shown falling to the floor. The scenes are intercut with shots of a spinning globe and the band performing atop a stack of giant hardcover books, in which Africa is the topmost.[29]

The video has been criticized for its portrayal of African culture, with Sheffield calling it "mind-blowingly racist".[8] Breihan likewise deemed it "almost shockingly racist", but nonetheless found that it "succeeds at its goal of making Toto seem visually compelling and translating the over-the-top drama of “Africa” into something cinematic."[27]

Reception and legacy

The song was popular upon its release, hitting number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1983, and also reaching the top 10 in many other worldwide record charts.

The song has continued to be a popular soft-rock classic up to the 21st century. Cash Box called it an "image-filled package of pop exotica with its gently tropical synth and marimba."[30] Billboard called it an "evocative number" that should return the group to the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 after the weaker single "Make Believe".[31] Classic Rock History critic Brian Kachejian rated it as Toto's 5th greatest song.[32] In 2021, it was listed at No. 452 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time", being acclaimed as a "yacht-rock touchstone" and receiving praise for its "instantly calming synthesiser riff" and "soaring chorus".[7] Breihan positively reviewed the song as part of a column reviewing each Billboard Hot 100 #1. Ultimately giving it an 8/10 rating, he noted the song's "perfectly ridiculous act of hubris" in its "hackneyed, overwrought" lyrics comparing the 'Africa' depicted to Paich's supposed yearning for a "normal life", but acclaimed its complete lack of "self-consciousness" and confidence in its premise, lauding its "ultra-ridiculous synth-gloop" and "operatic" chorus.[27] Critic Carl Wilson commented on the song's "perfect marriage of terrible and good", with its acute musicality – he described it as "well-played, well-sung, harmonically enticing, rhythmically enticing" – juxtaposed with a "completely incoherent text about Africa".[21]

The song's inaccurate lyrical depiction of Africa, especially as seen from an otherwise-detached American perspective, has been commented on by various critics. Stereogum writer Vivek Maddala argued that "it’s not hard to view [the song] as an expression of a glib neo-colonial mentality" and a "Rudyard Kipling 'White Man's Burden'-type narrative", especially with the lyrics being written in an "awkward, reductive way", but nevertheless noted that Paich wrote it "from a benign (if naïve) standpoint".[3] Michael Hann of the Financial Times claimed that the lyrics are "filled with false nostalgia and riddled with errors", referencing the unrealistic line "as sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti", and even referred to the marimba and "cod-African solos" which might also be perceived as cultural appropriation. He nonetheless acknowledged that the lyrics still come off as "romantic and yearning", and the latter musical aspects form "part of its period charm".[33] Sheffield argued that the inaccuracy displayed in the lyrics actually does not matter, as they nonetheless effectively portray the speaker's feelings of alienation and placelessness, being "homesick for nowhere" and "deep in his feelings".[8]

Cultural impact

Hann hypothesised that the song's musically "indelible" nature, cheesiness, and status as a "song that exists to be sung" has given it a cultural staying power over the decades.[33] Sheffield additionally compared it to another 80s rock hit with strong cultural endurance, Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", and highlighted its position as a cultural touchstone and an "unofficial anthem".[8] The song has been utilized in many internet memes,[34] has appeared in television shows, such as Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, Stranger Things, Family Guy, Chuck, The Cleveland Show, Top Gear and South Park, and was used by CBS during their 2013 coverage of the funeral of former South African President Nelson Mandela, albeit not without controversy.[21][8][35] It was also included in the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City as part of the fictional Emotion 98.3 radio station.[36]

In 2012, "Africa" was listed by music magazine NME in 32nd place on its list of "50 Most Explosive Choruses."[37] In January 2019, a sound installation was set up in an undisclosed location in the Namib Desert to play the song on a constant loop. The installation is powered by solar batteries, allowing the song to be played indefinitely.[38] Two years later, the song reached 1 billion plays on the streaming site Spotify.

In 2022, the song was revealed as the third most streamed song of the 1970s, 80s and 90s in the UK (behind Oasis's "Wonderwall" and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody").[39]

Band response

Members of the band have since expressed their amazement at the song's cultural footprint. Though he admits that he "sometimes hates" it, having played it "since 1982", Lukather has notably been surprised over the evergreen popularity of "Africa", which he claims has "outlived [Toto's] haters and been very good to [him]". He has also positively noted Toto's upturn in popularity with young people, especially as more attend their concerts. The band nowadays deliver an extended rendition of the song every concert, engaging in a call-and-response section with the audience. Paich notes that the band "has a good sense of humour about [themselves]" regarding the many references to the song in media; Lukather remarks his amusement at a portrayal of himself playing "Africa" on South Park. According to Paich, the band has also received complaints concerning the ridiculousness of the song, but prefers to "laugh it off"; he especially maintains his view that one can see Kilimanjaro from the Serengeti. Contrary to the criticism, he remarks that people from Johannesburg and Cape Town have asked him how he was able to "describe" the place "so beautifully", despite not having visited Africa at the time.[20][21][4]

Personnel

Guest musicians

Charts

Certifications and sales

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[60] 13× Platinum 910,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[61] Gold 50,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[62] 2× Platinum 180,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[63] 3× Gold 750,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[64] 2× Platinum 140,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[65] Gold 7,500*
United Kingdom (BPI)[66] 4× Platinum 2,400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[67] 8× Platinum 8,000,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Weezer cover

In December 2017, Twitter user "@WeezerAfrica," run by 14-year-old Cleveland, Ohio resident Mary Klym,[68] tweeted, "@RiversCuomo it's about time you bless the rains down in Africa." The band released a cover of "Rosanna," a different Toto song (also part of the album Toto IV), in order to troll Klym and those clamoring for a version of "Africa".[69]

Weezer finally released "Africa" on May 29, 2018. It was the band's first Hot 100 hit since "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To" in 2009.[70] "Africa" reached number 51 on the Hot 100 and peaked at number one on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart in August 2018, becoming the band's first number-one single since "Pork and Beans" in 2008.[71]

Weezer included the cover on their surprise release of the all-covers "Teal Album" in January 2019.[72]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Africa discography".
  2. ↑ Schmitt, Al; Droney, Maureen (2018). Al Schmitt – On the Record: The Magic Behind the Music. Lanham, Maryland, USA: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 118. ISBN 9781538137666.
  3. 1 2 "A Composer Breaks Down The Music Theory Behind Toto's "Africa"". Stereogum. October 31, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Condon, Dan (December 12, 2018). "How did Toto's 'Africa' become a millennial anthem? Don't ask the band". Double J. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  5. ↑ Deggans, Eric (August 20, 2014). "Review: Toto, Michael McDonald showcase stellar '70s chops at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on September 9, 2017. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  6. ↑ Monger, James Christopher. "Toto – Hold the Line: The Best of Toto". AllMusic. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 15, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "How Toto's 'Africa' Became the New 'Don't Stop Believin'". Rolling Stone. October 31, 2018. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  9. ↑ Zaleski, Annie (August 13, 2017). "35 years after its release, Toto's "Africa" is more popular than ever". Salon.
  10. ↑ Yenisey, Zeynep (November 22, 2017). "Here's Why 'Africa' by Toto is the Internet's Favorite Song, 35 Years After It Topped the Pop Charts". Maxim.
  11. ↑ Song, Kayla; Riley, Jill (October 1, 2019). "Interview: Steve Lukather of Toto talks about the enduring legacy of 'Africa'". The Current.
  12. ↑ Zellner, Xander (June 13, 2018). "Weezer Returns to Hot 100 With Fan-Inspired Cover of Toto's 'Africa'". Billboard. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  13. ↑ Sullivan, James. "Toto's 'Africa': The mother of all memes is waiting there for you – The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America.
  15. 1 2 3 Kovarsky, Jerry (July 13, 2015). "TOTO: The Synth Statesmen of Progressive Pop Return". Keyboard. Archived from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Classic Tracks: Toto's "Africa"". August 2005. Archived from the original on July 1, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  17. ↑ Locker, Melissa (May 5, 2015). "Q&'80s: Toto's Dave Paich on Writing and Recording 'Africa'". Grantland.com. (end paragraph 2 and 8). Archived from the original on June 25, 2016. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Official TOTO Website – Releases". www.toto99.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  19. ↑ "Africa". Official TOTO Website. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  20. 1 2 3 Simpson, Dave (January 30, 2018). "Toto: how we made Africa". the Guardian.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 Unterberger, Andrew (January 2, 2018). "Toto's 'Africa': The Oral History of '80s Pop's Most-Spoofed Megahit". Billboard. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  22. 1 2 "Stryker Chats with Toto About Weezer 'Hash Pipe' Cover". Omny Studio (Podcast). KROQFM: On-Demand. July 28, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  23. ↑ "Official TOTO Website – Encyclopedia". www.toto99.com. April 18, 2007. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  24. ↑ Flans, Robyn (November 1988). "Jeff Porcaro: the feel of the music". Modern Drummer. Archived from the original on March 31, 2020. Alt URL Archived February 10, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
  25. ↑ "Africa by Toto – Songfacts". Songfacts.
  26. ↑ "Distance from Kilimanjaro International airport to Serengeti national park". Serengeti National Park. February 15, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  27. 1 2 3 "The Number Ones: Toto's "Africa"". Stereogum. July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Toto – "Africa"". mvdbase.com. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  29. 1 2 "Toto – Africa (Official Music Video)". YouTube. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  30. ↑ "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. October 23, 1982. p. 8. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  31. ↑ "Top Single Picks". Billboard. October 23, 1982. p. 79. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  32. ↑ Kachejian, Brian. "Top 10 Toto songs". Classic Rock History. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  33. 1 2 Hann, Michael (June 13, 2018). "The strange appeal of Toto's Africa — and why it's cover-proof". Financial Times. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  34. ↑ "Toto's 'Africa': The mother of all memes is waiting there for you". Boston Globe. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  35. ↑ McFarland, Kevin (May 21, 2012). "Family Guy: "Viewer Mail #2"/"Internal Affairs"". TV Club. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  36. ↑ "Song- GTA: Vice City Wiki Guide – IGN". IGN. March 27, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  37. ↑ "50 Most Explosive Choruses – #32 Toto – Africa". NME. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015.
  38. ↑ "Africa by Toto to play on eternal loop 'down in Africa'". BBC News. January 14, 2019. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  39. ↑ "The Official Top 300 Most Streamed Songs from the 70s 80s 90s". Planet Radio. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  40. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  41. ↑ "Toto – Africa" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  42. ↑ "Toto – Africa" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  43. ↑ "Toto – Africa" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  44. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Africa". Irish Singles Chart.
  45. ↑ "Toto – Africa" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  46. ↑ "Toto – Africa". Top 40 Singles.
  47. ↑ "Toto – Africa". Swiss Singles Chart.
  48. ↑ "Toto: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  49. ↑ "Toto Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  50. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2014). Cash Box Pop Hits 1952–1996. Sheridan Books, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-209-0.
  51. ↑ "Toto Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  52. ↑ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart – 20 May 2013". Official New Zealand Music Chart. Recorded Music New Zealand. May 20, 2013. Archived from the original on May 7, 2017. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  53. ↑ "SloTop50: Slovenian official singles weekly chart" (in Slovenian). SloTop50. Archived from the original on January 1, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
  54. ↑ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  55. ↑ "Toto Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  56. ↑ "Kent Music Report – National Top 100 Singles for 1983". Kent Music Report. Retrieved January 22, 2023 – via Imgur.com.
  57. ↑ "Talent Almanac 1984" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 95, no. 52. December 24, 1983. p. TA-18. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  58. ↑ "The Cashbox Year End Charts:1983". Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  59. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2023". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  60. ↑ "Oct 2023 Single Accreds" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  61. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Toto – Africa". Music Canada.
  62. ↑ "Danish single certifications". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  63. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Toto; 'Africa')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  64. ↑ "Italian single certifications – Toto – Africa" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved November 22, 2021. Select "2021" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Africa" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  65. ↑ "New Zealand single certifications – Toto – Africa". Recorded Music NZ.
  66. ↑ "British single certifications – Toto – Africa". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  67. ↑ "American single certifications – Toto – Africa". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  68. ↑ McKinstry, Lee. "Teen Tweets Weezer Into Covering "Africa"". Cleveland Magazine. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
  69. ↑ Monroe, Jazz (May 24, 2018). "Weezer Cover Toto's "Rosanna," Trolling Viral Campaign for "Africa" Cover". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  70. ↑ Goldberg, Benjamin (August 9, 2018). "Weezer's Toto cover is the band's biggest hit in a decade". The A.V. Club. Onion, Inc. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  71. ↑ "Alternative Songs: Top Alternative Songs Chart". Billboard. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  72. ↑ "Weezer Surprise-Releases Covers Album". Variety. January 23, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.

Further reading

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.